Former Premier League official Dermot Gallagher says that VAR was not required to determine whether Southampton had scored a legitimate goal against Chelsea in the FA Cup.

Former Premier League official Dermot Gallagher has supported the decision not to use VAR when Southampton thought they had scored a goal against Chelsea in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final.

With Chelsea 1-0 ahead, Saints thought they had equalised when they had seemingly got the ball over the line in a goalmouth scramble, only for referee Martin Atkinson to decide that Charlie Austin had fouled goalkeeper Willy Caballero.

Replays suggested that Southampton had been harshly treated and manager Mark Hughes has questioned why VAR was not used, but Gallagher has insisted that the correct decision had been made.

Gallagher told Sky Sports News: "The referee Martin Atkinson gave a free kick to Chelsea because he felt Caballero was in control of the ball when Austin challenged him.

"VAR wouldn't have been needed anyhow because it can't debate the decision because it is not clear and obvious, and if the ball had gone over the line anyhow, the GDS would have gone up and you wouldn't have needed VAR at all."

Chelsea would later score a second goal to claim a 2-0 victory at Wembley Stadium.